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The Essential Guide » The Planning Stage » Where Will We Live While We Work on Our Self Build or Renovation Project?
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Where will we live whilst the project progresses?
This is another one of those “important decisions” which if you want to keep your stress levels whilst you build, to a minimum, you need to give plenty of consideration to.
Renovation projects are often not so much of a problem. If the work does not involve taking off the roof, then there is a good chance that, if you wish to, you will be able to stay in the building whilst the project proceeds. Even if you lose one or more of the services temporarily, you should be able to “organise around it”. – If you lose electricity, you can hire a generator or if you are friendly with your neighbours you may be able to (safely) hook up to their supply to be able to at least boil a kettle and wash the dishes, for a few days until you get you supply back on. If you temporarily lose the water supply you can use containers until it is restored, and if you lose the gas supply you may be able to compensate with electric heating etc.
If you can stay in residence in the building itself, it will obviously help with the financial side of things. Any other option will need to be thought about and any cost implications included in the project budget:
So, what are the options?
The chances are that if your are contemplating any sort of major project, you have already given this subject some thought. I will just go over the main options and point out some of the things to bear in mind before you make your final decision on where to live while you build.
1) Touring or static caravan on site:
If there are just 2 of you, this could be a reasonable idea, either in a “tourer” or a “static”. The static will give you more “home comforts”. You may be able to link it into a drainage system, and either temporary electrical and water supplies, or you can always use generators (quiet ones!), and water containers. The added value of a static over a tourer would only be really apparent if you DO get the services connected. If you can’t connect the drainage or any of the other services, then a tourer would probably be a better option for 2 people as it is designed as a more “self contained” unit, with chemical loo, and often the capacity for hot and cold running water, allowing showers, and cooking / cleaning.
Once you get to more than 2 people, statics, fully connected, become more of “the sensible option” as you will start to have “privacy issues” and more people wanting to use the water and the loo, and needing living space for things like homework, office work, watching TV etc. More than 4 people and you are starting to struggle even with a fully connected static caravan. You need to bear in mind also that you may be working daily on site which could get muddy for days or weeks on end. There will be the constant problem of trying to keep the mud “outside” the caravan. That’s not so bad with 2 adults, but with the addition of one or more kids, it can become almost impossible!
On the plus side of a caravan on the site: You will always be there, - for any meetings which are needed, and to take care of “security issues”. Theft and vandalism can be big problems in some areas. It is far less likely if the owner is just a few feet away!
Cost wise: You will have to get a static caravan delivered, this could cost between £150 and £400 depending on how far it is coming. You may need a tow bar fitted to your car to get a tourer, or you may get it delivered free. Both will depreciate in value. Over a year, not by too much though. You will have to find the money “up front” to buy whichever you choose, and you can probably budget to lose between £1,000 and £3,000 when you sell it. You then need to connect the services if it is a static which could cost up to £1,000, or buy the “bits and pieces” for a tourer which could cost a couple of hundred pounds.
Overall costs will probably be between about £1500 and £4500 depending on which option you take and your personal circumstances.
2) “Holiday caravan” at a local park:
If there is somewhere suitable within about half an hour’s drive, and you can afford to either buy it upfront with the thought of selling it after completion, this may be a good option. You don’t have to worry about connections because they will all be already done. Or about carting water from “a to b” for 8 months. It will be easier to keep clean and will cater more easily for up to 4 or even 5 people for substantial lengths of time. There will often be clothes washing facilities and maybe even a site shop. - Ideal for when you forget the milk and are desperate for a “cuppa” after a long day! Then there is the fact that if you are on a holiday park there could be things for the kids to do there to keep them out of your hair! – I used this option some years ago and over all it worked well. There was a bar on site there, and it was nice to come back to the centrally heated caravan in the colder months, have a shower and head off for a quiet pint to unwind and discuss the plans for the next day.
Cost: You will need to pay a minimum of around £6,000 for a reasonable van, and can go up to £40,000+ for a really nice one. You will have to find this money separate from your build budget. You will then lose money when you sell the van, the more expensive the van the more you will lose. You may also have to pay around 15% selling fee to the site owners. Then there are the “site fees”. These could be from around £25 a week to £75 a week. There is also the cost of petrol for running “back and too” every day to bear in mind, along with the wear and tear on the car.
This option could cost you between £2,500 and well over £10,000 overall.
There is always the other option of you hiring a caravan on one of these sites for a long period. You may be able to negotiate a good price with the owner if for any reason they are not using it themselves. – Look in the local press to see if there is anything on offer.
3) Buy a static caravan on a residential site and sell it after you have finished the project:
This will offer pretty much the same benefits as the holiday site option, but you may not get a caravan on a residential site for as little as £6,000. Some of the residential sites have rules about kids and a minimum age limit too, so check up on those things on sites local to you before you start to consider it as an option. Residential sites don’t tend to have the onsite entertainment that holiday camps sometimes offer.
4) B and B:
Only really an option if there are 2 of your and you don’t expect to be living there full time. If you have a home somewhere else which you return to regularly, then 2 or 3 nights in a B and B each week may be an option for simplicity and convenience. There are no “set up” costs, and you don’t have to spend time searching to buy caravans and all the other bits you need to get them set up. You also get your breakfast before you head out to start work, which is a MAJOR advantage!
Cost: You may well be able to negotiate a very good rate with the B and B owner as you will be giving them a lot of business, sometimes at quiet times of the year for them. Three nights a week at £40 / night will cost you around £4800 for an 8 month project. You lose nothing financially at the end of the contract because you have nothing to have to try to sell.
5) Rent a house:
If you have a family with 2 or more kids and you can’t stay in your own place while you build, then this is a very sensible option. Rental leases usually start from 6 months, although you will occasionally find them from 3 months.
Rental costs will vary greatly depending on where you are in the country. These could vary from £350 / month to upwards of £1000 / month. You will also need to find a “deposit” equivalent to between 1 and 1.5 months’ rent, which you pay upfront with your first months rental.
The benefits of this option are obvious. It’s simply home from home. You stand more of a chance of keeping a happy family with this option, tan with any of the other options (apart from maybe the “Holiday Park” option!). There is room for privacy, even if you may be “one bedroom” short to save money, and a bit of sharing has to be suffered.
You also have the option of looking to find somewhere that is very close to the project, possibly even in the same street. If you can manage to do that, then the security advantages can be of great benefit. It’s easy to nip out and keep an eye on the site once or twice a night if you are “just up the road”.
Costs: 8 months at £350 = £2,800. 8 months at £700 = £5,600 there are also your normal household costs on top of this, but you would be paying them if you stayed in your own home anyway. You will need to find the money for the deposit upfront, but should get this back when you move out.
6) Share with friends / family:
NOT usually a good idea! You will be invading every aspect of someone else’s lives for a lengthy period of time. You will be bringing dirt and mess in with you, and possibly noisy kids. You may even end up leaving your kids with them day after day while you head off to work on the house. You will all be needing the bath or shower, usually at the same times! Wanting to cook at strange times, - when they have just finished cleaning up after their own meals. You will be constantly bumping into each other all over the house. Both your privacy and theirs will be compromised.
If these people are you VERY best friends, or if you get on REALLY well with your parents, and / or if there are only two of you, then this may just about be an option. BUT, I have to say that in 25+ years I have never heard of anyone who has taken this option and who would then recommend it to others!
Cost: You will need to recompense your hosts for lodgings, food, heating, etc. Depending on how many of you there are this could be anything between £50 a week and £200 / week (or £1,600 and £6,400 for an 8 month project). £50 may sound cheap and an attractive figure if you are short of money for your build budget, BUT is it worth potentially ruining what is presently a good relationship for?
7) Stay in your present house until the new one is completed:
This can be a good option if you can set up the financial side of things ok. Some mortgages which are available allow this as an option. One way this can work is: You have your own home valued up front, and then the sales figures for your property are all included in the figures for your borrowing needs. Once you complete your new home ( or usually a couple of months before you complete), you put your old house on the market and try to sell it as quickly as possible. Once it sells, the final figures are worked out on this basis:
“Cost of the new project, less any “net” income from the sale of your old house, less any other funds which you have personally put into the project = Your new Mortgage”
In effect you are given what is known as “bridging funds” to allow you to keep 2 properties for a temporary period. This method has been used for a long time in various different forms, and can be very useful.
Cost: - Just the set up fees for the scheme and your normal day to day running costs. Plus travel costs to the new project. – All the other costs would be incurred whichever option you take.
Staying in my own house whilst the new one was built, would always be my preferred option if it was available.
Whichever option you take, it is important to get the consensus of the whole family. The decision will affect everyone in the family for a lengthy period of time. If they are all in agreement upfront it will make the whole process a lot less pressurized, and you may all even enjoy it!
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